Biz Talks

On this week’s episode, Tammie Jackson, the city’s director of safety and permits, says more investigators and new software will improve enforcement of short-term rental rules.

The healthcare industry represents $1.5 billion of the gross regional product on the Northshore and a new pilot program started this past May aims to boost that number even further. In this week's episode, Chris Masingill, CEO of St. Tammany Corporation, shares the details behind Northshore Healthscape, including how it will help address the industry’s workforce shortage.

This week’s episode features native New Orleanian Curtis Doucette, a real estate developer and CEO of Iris Development. A former banker, Doucette bought his first property — a duplex in New Orleans East — in 2002. Twenty years later, he’s celebrating the grand opening of the $20 million BonVi apartment complex, a mixed-use project developed in partnership with Green Coast Enterprises that’s celebr...

In the wake of the amended homebuilding moratorium, what is the next step in addressing the Northshore’s growth challenges? Jules Guidry, CEO of Highland Homes and a former leader of the Northshore Home Builders Association, talks about the new committee he’s a part of that’s dedicated to finding “Simple Solutions,” and shares his thoughts on the future when it comes to supply chain and interest r...

This week’s guest, energy industry veteran Al Petrie, has organized not one but two major industry gatherings this week in New Orleans. On the podcast, he talks about how the pandemic, the global focus on clean energy and the war in Ukraine are creating opportunities for Louisiana.

A NOLA native and mother of seven, Mignon Francois took the last $5 she had for dinner one week and made cupcakes. A decade and a half later, her shop, the Cupcake Collection is ranked in the top 10 cupcake shops in the country and has two successful locations — one in Nashville, Tennessee and one in New Orleans. In this week’s episode, Mignon shares her secrets for success and advice for budding...

Small business owners in Louisiana and nationwide are reporting that inflation is hurting their bottom line and adversely impacting their ability to hire and retain workers, according to new survey data from Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Voices. This week’s podcast features Joe Wall, the organization’s national director. He discusses the new report and what he hopes will be done to help.

Morgan Dixon is a nail artist, entrepreneur and social media star whose incredible creations have made her studio, MAD Nails, (named for her initials) THE top nail salon in the region and even grabbed the attention of Hollywood. On this week’s podcast, Dixon shares the details on her company and an exciting new expansion.

This week’s podcast features Carmelo Turillo. Turillo is an educator and entrepreneur who is a professor of practice at Tulane University’s A.B. Freeman School of Business and the co-owner of Francofonte Catering, which has operated a gelato tent at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival for more than a decade. Turillo talks about what it takes to serve high-quality food to thousands of peop...

On Wednesday, April 27, 2022, NOLA MusicTech will host its first in-person conference at the George and Joyce Wein Jazz & Heritage Center on North Rampart Street. The conference is focused on providing more money and opportunities to New Orleans musicians. In this episode, the event’s two producers Melissa O'Brien and Christine Auten explain what music technology looks like and how our region...

Kathy Laborde, president and CEO of Gulf Coast Housing Partnership, is helping spearhead an $80 million affordable housing and healthcare development in Central City. With partial support from health insurance company Aetna, the project aims to demonstrate that onsite, accessible care improves health outcomes at a lower cost, and it’s expected to bring more foot traffic to Oretha Castle Haley Boul...

Intralox is a global manufacturer of conveyor belts that is headquartered in Jefferson Parish with additional facilities located around the world. The company has grown dramatically in the last several years thanks to the rise of e-commerce and now employs more than 3,000 people worldwide. In this week's episode, we talk to Intralox CEO and President Edel Blanks about the company's inception, why...

Drew Brees, John Georges, Tania Tetlow, Todd Graves… these are just a few of the people whose leadership styles are analyzed in a new book called “The Seismic Shift in Leadership” by executive coach and Loyola University Gaston Chair of Business Dr. Michelle K. Johnston. What kind of leadership style leads to the best results? What are some easy things you can start doing now? How does good leader...

Over the last two years, Ochsner Health and other healthcare providers have navigated an extraordinary set of challenges related to the pandemic and extreme weather events. On this week's podcast, Warner Thomas, the president and CEO of Ochsner, discusses the lessons learned in the process and how they will change the healthcare industry going forward.

New Orleans Entrepreneur Week is back, live and in-person in locations around the city March 21-25. The event will culminate with the Idea Pitch, where top startups from The Idea Village’s VillageX accelerator program compete for a $50,000 prize. This week, Corey James, program director for VillageX, discusses the competition’s top prospects and his other “don’t miss” picks for NOEW 2022.

The New Orleans Police Department is designed to function with more than 1,500 police officers on the force but currently has less than 1,000 patrolling the streets. Rafael Goyeneche, longtime president of the Metropolitan Crime Commission, believes this is one of the primary causes of the recent spike in violent crime. In this week's podcast, he discusses strategies for rebuilding the NOPD’s rank...

In this week's podcast, General Manager Mali Carow talks about how the Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans, the city's first five-star hotel, has fared since it’s opening last summer, how their first Carnival season is going and shares some details on two more large features set to open in the next month.

As of January 2022, there were more than 70,000 onshore wind turbines in operation throughout the United States. And, in 2020, onshore wind power provided 25% of all energy used by the Texas power grid. Move offshore, though, and the number of U.S. wind turbines drops to an amount you can count with the fingers on one hand. As it happens, Louisiana companies were instrumental in constructing the f...

Metairie native Thomas Richards’ family has owned and operated what has been known as Clearview Mall for over 50 years. Now, Richards is behind the mall’s reinvention into Clearview City Center, a mixed-use project set to include a “super clinic” from Ochsner and high-end apartment community, among its new offerings. This week, Richards chats about what people can expect from the new development a...

This week’s podcast features Marquita White, workforce training and development manager at the New Orleans Culinary & Hospitality Institute. The school is now accepting applications for its Pathways for Upward Mobility Program, which is focused on hospitality professionals from the BIPOC community (Black, Indigenous and People of Color). The 8-week crash course provides leadership and entrepre...

The only Louisiana attraction and highest-ranking museum to be honored in the “Best New Attraction” category in USA TODAY’s 10Best Readers’ Choice travel awards, the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience may not be somewhere you’re familiar with yet as it just opened last May, but if it’s not, it should be. This week we chat with Executive Director Kenneth Hoffman about what is it about the mus...

Robert Thompson's Frenchmen Hotel renovation will be unveiled at the end of the month. Meanwhile, he made headlines this month for purchasing the much larger Whitney Hotel on the other side of the French Quarter. On this week's podcast, he talks about why he moved his business and family to New Orleans, and how his writer's imagination inspires his restaurant and hotel designs.

Seniors have always been at an increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19, but with this aggressive Omicron variant, what should they be doing to stay safe? Is it OK to resume those doctor’s appointments? See family? What about protecting mental health? Dr. Brienne Loy, regional medical director for CenterWell Senior Primary Care for Texas and Louisiana, shares her advice.

This week, we talk to award-winning writer, editor and "Biz Talks" co-host Kim Singletary, who has been the managing editor of Biz New Orleans magazine since its launch in 2014. In this episode, she discusses the most important business stories of the year, and the top executives featured in the January issue.

This week, producer Kelly Massicot interviews Biz Talks co-host Rich Collins about his new role as the editor of Biz New Orleans ' new publication the New Orleans 500 . The New Orleans 500 is an annual book that profiles the business leaders who are driving the greater New Orleans economy today and making decisions that will shape the region’s future. The inaugural edition is out now and Collins t...